Melatonin as a therapeutic resource for uveitis treatment.

ROSENSTEIN, RUTH; FERNANDEZ, DIEGO; SAENZ, DANIEL; CHIANELLI, MÓNICA; DEL SOLE MARÍA JOSÉ; SANDE, PABLO

Advances in Medicine and Biology

Nova Science Publishers, Inc.

Lugar: Hauppauge, New York; Año: 2013; p. 25 - 46

Uveitis is the most common form of intraocular inflammation and a disease with potentially blinding sequels. Since the disease causes significant morbidity and the use of traditional forms of treatment is restricted by limited effectiveness and considerable side effects, uveitis remains a challenging field to ophthalmologists and it represents a significant public health concern. Current understanding of the role of oxidative and nitrosative stress in ocular inflammatory diseases indicates that antioxidant and antinitridergic therapy may be important to optimize the uveitis treatment. Several lines of evidence strongly support that melatonin is a potent antioxidant molecule which is effective in scavenging free radicals that are generated in ocular tissues, and it inhibits the retinal nitridergic pathway. In view of the fact that melatonin lacks significant adverse collateral effects even at high doses, melatonin could potentially protect ocular tissues by effectively scavenging free radicals and excessive amounts of NO generated in the uveitic eye. This chapter summarizes recent investigations showing that melatonin prevents clinical, biochemical, histological, ultrastructural, and functional consequences of experimental uveitis, and which support the role of melatonin as a therapeutic strategy for uveitis treatment.